Newbie to Newbie Blog Part Two

"Prior to beginning work on this interactive assignment, read Chapters 1 through 3 in Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis

 (Links to an external site.); Chapter 1, Section 1.7: O Notation in Data Structures Essentials; the Complexity Analysis (Links to an external site.) article; and the Time Complexity, Space Complexity, and the O-notation (Links to an external site.) article.

Explain to another newbie how to apply algorithmic design and data structure techniques in developing structured programs. Are some algorithms and data structure designs better than others? If so, explain why one design would be used before another design would be used. Discuss in the post how you would apply algorithmic design and data structure techniques in developing structured programs."

Wow, so, those articles about complexity are full of some really dense math-talk. Way denser than I intend to parse through for this assignment. Sorry. Here's my takeaway: Some algorithms are better than others at handling huge amounts of input data. As the amount of data grows, the differences between algorithms tends to stand out more sharply. Some algorithms will take more time, while others will take more memory capacity. The really bad ones will do both. The really good ones will do neither, but those are few and far between because they're difficult to make.

What confuses me, however, is that these concepts aren't ones that we've actually worked with throughout this course. We've learned how to implement a list, a stack, a queue, and even a tree, and we've also learned about different types of sorting and searching algorithms. But we haven't learned about designing algorithms or data structures, and I don't remember learning the definition of a "structured program," either. We supposedly learned about recursion, but despite my inability to display any recursive functionality in my code, I was still congratulated and given full marks for doing it anyway.

This makes me wonder whether I'm doing something wrong, making me unable to see my classmate's blog post, or whether the instructor didn't bother to click on the faulty link before complimenting its contents. I don't know what to think of this course anymore.

Guess it's time to more on to the final project, now.

Post #7: Tech Topic Connection

For this final blog post, you must research at least two scholarly and/or credible resources in addition to your course text. You are also encouraged to review the instructor feedback and the work you completed in the Week 3 Building a Blog: Develop assignment.

To complete your Information Technology Blog, you will write a final blog post to further explore your chosen tech topic.

Post #6 – Network Security [CLO: 6]

 You initially completed this post in your Network Security assignment in Week Four. Review the instructions here and incorporate the instructor feedback from the Week Four assignment in your sixth blog post.

To complete this assignment, you must research at least two credible or scholarly resources in addition to your course text.

You will be including revised content from this assignment as Post six of your Information Technology Blog Final Project. You may wish to review the instructions included for the Information Technology Blog in Week 5 prior to completing work on this assignment to see how it fits into your overall final project.

To complete this assignment, you will explain the importance of information and system security for individuals and organizations.

As a part of the Week 3 Traveling Through a Network assignment, you used ping commands to become familiar with networking. Explain the type of attack(s) that can be executed using ping commands.

In addition, select two of the following computer security incidents to discuss in more detail:

• Security holes/vulnerabilities
• Computer viruses
• Email spam
• Phishing
• Password cracking
• Social engineering

In your paper

• Explain why computer systems are vulnerable to each kind of threat.
• Describe the symptoms and damage that each breach can inflict after compromising a system.
• Propose at least two recommendations for protecting a computer system or network from each type of security breach.
• Support your statements with evidence from your sources.

Post #5 – Computers in the Workplace [CLOs: 1, 2]

 You initially completed this post in your Computers in the Workplace discussion in Week Four. Review the instructions here and incorporate the peer and instructor feedback from the Week Four discussion in your fifth blog post.

In your initial post, you will choose a specific industry (e.g., construction, sales, healthcare, and education, etc.). Based on your current understanding of information technology, your experience with that industry, and any additional research as necessary, describe the functions of computers in your chosen industry. Explain why it is important for employees in this type of environment to be computer literate. Considering the historic trends of computing, forecast how evolutions in computer hardware, operating systems, and networking will impact your chosen industry over the next ten years.

Post #4 – Traveling Through a Network [CLO: 6]

 You initially completed this post in your Traveling Through a Network interactive assignment in Week Three. Review the instructions here and incorporate the peer and instructor feedback from the Week Three interactive assignment in your fourth blog post.

In this interactive assignment, you will use ping and traceroute commands as tools for exploring how packets of information travel through networks.

Post #3 – Documenting a Day [CLOs: 4, 5]

 You initially completed this post in your Documenting a Day assignment in Week Two. Review

the instructions here and incorporate the instructor feedback from the Week Two assignment in

your third blog post.

To complete this assignment, you will explore the functions and interfaces of four different application software programs as you document the events that take place in one day of your life.

Post #2 – Web/Mobile App Critique [CLO: 4]

 You initially completed this post in your Web/Mobile App Critique discussion in Week Two. Review the instructions here and incorporate the peer feedback from the Week Two discussion in your second blog post.

To complete this discussion, you will write a review of a web/mobile app that you are familiar with. Or, if you are not familiar with any web or mobile app, you may select one from the list provided in your text to explore and review.

Evaluate the app’s usability, design, and functionality. Use screenshots to show how the app works. Propose at least three recommendations for improvements. Your discussion should be approximately 500 words in length and include a minimum of two screenshots.

Post #1 – Programming Languages [CLO: 3]

 For those interested, here is the program I made in Scratch:

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/425470951

Submitted 09/14/2020

To complete this assignment, you will need to create a free account at the Scratch (Links to an external site.) website. In addition, it is recommended that you reference the “Getting Started Guide” from Scratch Help (Links to an external site.), and view the gallery of examples of projects from Scratch’s Explore (Links to an external site.) webpage. It is also recommended that you review Alice (Links to an external site.) and Code Combat (Links to an external site.) for other examples of block programming languages.

You will be including revised content from this assignment as Post 1 of your Information Technology Blog Final Project. You may wish to review the instructions included for the Information Technology Blog in Week 5 prior to completing work on this assignment to see how it fits into your overall Final Project.

In this assignment, you will explore the logic of computational thinking with a simple drag-and-drop, block programming language called Scratch. Create a short program of your own with Scratch (Links to an external site.), adding motion, looks, sound, and control options, among others. Your program should include at least 30 blocks.

Schoolwork assignments incoming

These first few posts are part of this assignment:

 "Throughout this course, you will create an Information Technology Blog with seven separate blog posts. The first six blog posts will be adapted from assessments submitted in Weeks One through Four, while the seventh post will integrate the fundamentals of information technology that you have learned during this course. 

For the Building a Blog: Implement interactive assignment in Week Five, you will adapt six specific assessments into blog posts. For Posts #1-6, incorporate the feedback that you received from your peers and instructors as you format each response as a blog post. Categorize each post with relevant labels."

So they're less to do with what I'm interested in, and more to do with completing this assignment.